COMPARED
The envelope method you know, with the sorting done for you.
Mintro is zero-based envelope budgeting, the method YNAB made famous. If you use YNAB, you already know how to use Mintro. Here is what is the same, what is different, and what YNAB still does better.
The same method
- every dollar gets a job
- ready to assign
- months roll over
- targets: monthly, weekly, by a date, a balance
- credit cards with payment envelopes
- cover overspending from another envelope
- reconcile with the bank
- age of money
- bank sync, and file imports
- one budget for a household
What is different
What YNAB still does better
YNAB has apps in the App Store and Google Play. Mintro runs in the web browser on any phone, and runs well there, but there is no app to install.
YNAB has years of polish behind it, plus workshops and a very large community. Mintro is in open beta, and it is built by one person.
YNAB has notes on each month and an undo for changes you make in the budget. Mintro does not have month notes yet, and its undo covers only bank activity and an applied cashflow plan.
Coming across
Export your budget from YNAB, give the files to ChatGPT, Claude, or Kimi, and say “rebuild my budget.” Your envelopes, your targets, and your transaction history come across.